January 16, 2026
St Arnaud to Upper Travers Hut
TA km marker 1992.0 to 2023.3
Hiked today: 31.3 km

With a long day planned, we set off early, first heading from the lodge to Lake Rotoiti  where we followed a path around –the lake for around 15 km. Then we were following a creek, often undulating along beside the shore, occasionally crossing the main river on swing bridges, or the creek by rock-hopping or wading through. The rain, which had started overnight, continued pretty much all day although it was never heavy.

With the last couple of days of rain, it meant that the track was often slippery with mud and we kept our shoes neither dry nor clean.

We sheltered at John Tait Hut for a bite of lunch at around 1.30, and then ventured on for an uphill push to  Upper Travers Hut where we will spend the night. Although it wasn’t a difficult walk, it was long and tiring. Despite having only his first day on trail today, Pete powered on much faster than us. It was great walking with his company and encouragement.

We have a view of the mountain from the hut and can see small remnants of snow from the winter but the peaks are shrouded in cloud. Hopefully the weather will clear tomorrow and maybe the next day we will have some views from the saddle.

Upper Travers Hut is used by people doing shorter hikes as well as TA hikers. It has 20 bed capacity and is manned by a warden. Arthur from Canberra is the current volunteer,  working as warden here for a week. We chatted about various hikes we have all done or would like to do in Tassie. Tomorrow we head up and over Travers Pass.